REDMOND
˜
REPORTER
NEWSLINE: 425.867.0353
OPINION | Guest column by university journalism student: Running to the real world [4] CRIME ALERT | Redmond Police Blotter [3]
COMMUNITY | Redmond High School juniors win national team chess championship in Orlando, Fla. [7]
FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
Redmond student notches prestigious Marshall Scholarship SAMANTHA PAK spak@redmond-reporter.com
Redmond Wells Fargo hands off jersey in support of Brain Injury Alliance of WA Wells Fargo’s Redmond branch recently donated a signed Russell Wilson Seattle Seahawks jersey to the Brain Injury Alliance of Washington. From left to right, Jessica Giordano, director of support programs for the alliance; Deborah Crawley, executive director of the alliance; and Nita Ku, business specialist at Wells Fargo’s Redmond branch. Wells Fargo won the jersey in a community campaign and donated it to the nonprofit of their choice. According to Crawley, a Wells Fargo employee’s mother suffered an injury and this exchange is in support of her. At the alliance’s fundraiser gala at the Westin Hotel in Seattle, a waiter who was serving the attendees won the jersey with a $1,500 bid. Crawley said the waiter is a brain-injury survivor and also donated cash to the alliance at last year’s gala. The alliance supports prevention and services of brain injuries, which includes its national work with youth concussion prevention in sports. Courtesy photo
Jacob Imam will be the first to admit he can sometimes overextend himself. And this past fall was a prime example. As a senior at Baylor University (BU) in Waco, Texas, much of the Redmond native’s time has been taken up by classes, homework and all that comes with school. In addition, Imam’s time was also taken up by applying for two scholarships: the Rhodes Scholarship and the Marshall Scholarship. In November, he learned he had been selected for the latter. “It was just tremendous,” said Imam, who graduated from The Bear Creek School in 2012, about how he felt when he received the news. “It is a huge award.” And the work involved in applying was also tremendous. He said the application was 10 pages long and included several essays — including personal statements as well as an essay on United States-United Kingdom relations, as the Marshall Scholarship is funded by the British government to fund American citizens to study in the UK. “It was such a long process,” Imam said with a laugh about applying. “It was really arduous.” After submitting his applica-
Jacob Imam
tion, Imam was contacted for an interview. He was also contacted for an interview for the Rhodes Scholarship. Imam traveled from Texas to San Francisco and then to Seattle for his interviews. He then had to travel to England for a prior engagement at Oxford. This was all in the span of two weeks. Upon returning to BU, where he is studying classics and historical philosophy, Imam said he had a lot of homework and studying to catch up on during his absence from school. “It was terrible,” he said about the back-to-back travel. But it was worth it as the Marshall Scholarship — which he learned he had received the day after his interview — will fund his studies for two years as well as research grants and his living expenses. Imam said he is “really thankful” to be selected for the scholarship. Imam admitted that he felt some trepidation when he learned he had received the scholarship. He said he didn’t [ more SCHOLAR page 2 ]
Redmond Ridge sisters hold gift drive for foster children SAMANTHA PAK spak@redmond-reporter.com
Being separated from family is not easy — especially as a young child. Sisters Sneha Ruth Thomas and Sarah Rachna Thomas know how traumatic it can be. For Ruth, 17, it is from firsthand
experience. She and their older brother were adopted when they were young children from India. For Sarah, 11, it was through her siblings’ experiences. The two girls said this has given them the heart to care for kids who have had a difficult time. This year, things are hitting them a bit
more personally because their father recently got laid off from his job and times have not been easy in the Thomas household. Ruth said because of this, they received help from neighbors and members from their church. “That really meant a lot to our family,” she said
This generosity from others has led the girls to hold a holiday gift drive for local foster children. Ruth said they let their neighbors on Redmond Ridge and members of their church know about what they were doing, sending out emails and posting information on social media.
The drive lasted about two and a half weeks and during that time, people donated toys, clothes, jewelry and more to the cause. In addition, people donated money, which Ruth and Sarah said they used to buy more gifts. Sarah also requested for her birthday that people donate money
or gifts to their cause, as well, in lieu of buying gifts for her. In the end, they had more than 350 gifts to give to foster children. Ruth said seeing how much people donated was “honestly a gift to see that.” She said with this time of year being such a busy time [ more GIFTS page 2]